The surprise ingredients in 'healthy' foods

Before stocking your kitchen cupboards with "healthy foods," you might want to read the labels.

Amy Leap

Before stocking your kitchen cupboards with "healthy foods," you might want to read the labels.

"When reading the label on the food packaging, look for five ingredients or less. That way, you know you are probably eating something healthy for you," said Mary Raiola, owner of the Organic Warehouse in Bartonsville.

People tend to associate trail mix with healthy eating. Unfortunately, most trail mix contains added sugars and can be extremely high in fat, Raiola said, adding, "Eating raw almonds is a better alternative."

If you make meals from scratch, using fresh ingredients can control the amount of sodium, sugars and fats that are in the food, Raiola said.

"Peanut butter is often thought of as healthy for you, but only if it is made from raw peanuts," she said.

The problem with commercial-brand peanut butter found in grocery stores is that it requires a long shelf life. To prevent the peanut oil from separating from the processed peanuts, manufacturers add salt, sugar, corn syrup, dextrose and vegetable oils.

"You aren't just getting protein with the peanuts," Raiola said. She also said the same is true of spaghetti sauce.

"You wouldn't think so, but most prepackaged spaghetti sauces are loaded with sugar and sodium. It is much better to chop up some tomatoes or use canned diced tomatoes to make your own sauce, and it really tastes much better, anyway," Raiola said.

According to Amy Hollister, a registered dietitian and owner of Healthy Habits in East Stroudsburg, yogurt is another food that, depending on what kind you eat, may not be as healthy as you think.

"It is only healthy if you stay away from the fruited yogurt. It contains large amounts of corn-syrup solids. If you eat plain, vanilla or lemon yogurt and add fresh fruit, then it is healthy," she said.

When buying snacks, Hollister said, choose fresh fruit over those "fruit" roll-ups that are so popular with kids.

Kids won't get any actual fruit in their diet from eating the roll-ups, but they will get a large dose of sugar, she said.

People need some fat for brain function, but there are healthy fats and unhealthy fats, said Raiola, who is also a holistic health counselor.

Two fats that are better for you, according to mayoclinic.com, are monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat.

Monounsaturated is a type of fat found in a variety of foods and oils, and polyunsaturated fat is mostly in plant-based foods and oils. Studies show that eating foods rich in these fats improves blood cholesterol levels, which can decrease your risk of heart disease.

Milk is essential for children's bone development and to fend off osteoporosis in adults, but you need to drink low-fat milk, not whole milk, Hollister said.

"An 8-ounce glass of whole milk has 10 grams of fat. If you just switch to 2 percent milk fat, you will cut the fat to 5 grams — that's cutting the fat in half," she said. "And if you can drink skim milk, there will be zero grams of fat per 8-ounce serving."

Salads and greens aren't always that healthy, depending on what you put on them, Raiola said.

People think they are eating healthy when they have a salad with their meal, but pouring on bottled salad dressing — the creamy kind — and piling on cheese will result in consuming more grams of fat than eating a Whopper, she said.

"You can mix a healthy vinaigrette dressing by using a little olive and vinegar mixed with spices," Raiola said.

Raiola and Hollister agree that the key to eating healthier is to cut out the prepackaged foods and take the time to prepare meals and snacks from scratch.

"At first it might seem like more work, but once you get accustomed to preparing from scratch, you will start enjoying the taste and you will even see that you can save money at the grocery store when not buying all the prepackaged meals and snacks," Hollister said.

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